To Be Free
by Dittolicous
Summary: A three-shot. All they wanted was the freedom to be. But good things never last. "My, my, a little Sonorosian and Splixton? Not a plethora of energy, but most useful in it's own way. You might as well have hand delivered them, Tennyson." DittoxEchoEcho
1. Trust

_Title: To Be Free_  
_Rating: T_  
_Genre: Romance/Humor_

* * *

**To Be Free**

**Part 1: Trust  
**

* * *

Ben sighed, drooping slightly in his seat and twiddled his pencil. Who cares where those two darn train leaving at the same time got to where, when? That's what the service desk was for. If algebra got any more boring, his may explode. He could see it now, 'The Great Ben 10 Found Dead by Algebra Homework. Go to 10B for rest of story.' Oh, how the mighty have fallen, the people would exclaim. His teacher would cry in woe for ever giving him that deathly piece of paper that brought down the innocent hero! Children would cry tears of gold and his parents would-

"Ok, not more cold pizza during homework." The brunette muttered and discard the old pizza into the bin, stopping his insane train of thought. "Julie doesn't kid when she says I have a wild imagination."

Sitting up, Ben stretched and cracked his back. He glanced at the clock which flashed '10:47' in blink, red numbers. He groaned and bent back over his work.

"Ten and a half alien attacks, six smoothes, and four classes of homework do not fit in one day. Especially when you miss said classes thanks to said aliens." He stated tiredly. "Sure, it's all fine and dandy then but when they give you the homework it's all 'Great, here, do work you haven't even been taught! Good luck, oh, and we have a test tomorrow!'" Ben ranted while waving his arms. Giving out another sigh, he reached out for his phone. "Gwen can help, she's all smart and stuff." He paused. "'Smart and stuff'? That pizza really has a lasting effect."

He was just about done dialing the girl when the ultimatrix gave a sudden shock, causing him to drop it.

"Ahg!"

More shocks and spurts of electricity shot from it when it suddenly began glowing, shooting out pictures of his different aliens, one by one.

He stared in shock as it flicked quickly through them. "What is it doing…"

Wildvine.

Benwulf.

Humongosaur.

Grey Matter.

Swampfire.

Jetray.

And finally it stopped on-

"Ditto?"

The pictured glowed there for a moment before the ultimatrix shook and shuttered then finally gave out a blast. Ben yelled as he was sent flying, crashing roughly against his TV.

A strange, 'alien' voice called out.

"Ditto!"

Blinking away the stars, he looked up and gasped. "W-what? Ditto? How did you get out of the ultimatrix?"

The small alien grinned and waved a finger. "If I told you, where would the fun be in that?"

"Well, I guess I'll just have to figure that out later." Ben quickly got back on his feet, hand on the ultimatrix. "Now we can do this the hard way or the easy wa-"

"Or my way!" Ditto chortled out as he duplicated and tackled Ben. The extra's held the struggling boy and the ring master grabbed his wrist.

The brunette yanked his wrist in attempt to keep if from the aliens grip. "Hey! What are you doing?"

"You'll see!" He responded, gripping it tightly. Hastily he began twisting and pushing the small machine. Sparks once again began to erupt and it glowed brightly, blinding the teen.

Then, another shout.

"Echo Echo!"

Ben's eyes shot open as the Ditto's shot back to the main one, freeing him. His hand quickly flew back to hit the ultimatrix.

"I don't know what you're doing but I guess we'll just have to-"

"I don't think so!" The small white alien called out. "Echo ECHO!"

Shooting back again, the wall's reverberated with sound and busted, sending dust everywhere and cloaking the two aliens. There was loud shuffling and talking but he couldn't make it out through his dizziness. Groaning in pain, Ben pushed himself up and coughed as in entered his lungs.

"Just gr-great!" He bemoaned. Finally hitting his wrist, he morphed. "Stinkfly!" He called out. His wings began beating quickly to clear the air. He glanced around his room. Nothing. "Oh just *perfect*."

He looked over at his window.

Open.

And he most certainly had it closed before hand.

"Double perfect!"

* * *

The two ran off, grinning wildly. The distance between them and the house grew, and before they knew it the house was completely out of view. Stopping, they caught their breath and smiled at each other.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Echo Echo asked cautiously, looking over her shoulder.

Ditto laughed as the other alien bounced on her heals. "Of course! What, are you doubting my genius?" He playfully put a hand over his heart. "I'm hurt, Echo Echo!"

Rolling her eyes the best she could, the smaller alien gently slapped his hand. "You know what I mean." She stated. "What if Ben really needs us? Or what is Aggregor comes after us? This is just dangerous. That's all."

"Naw, everything will be great!" He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just think about it! We can do whatever we want now! We could go get some of that human product called ice cream or see those 'drive-in-movies' or go exploring and see everything we've wanted to see!"

Echo Echo seemed to perk up. "Even go to human music shows?"

"Even music human shows!"

"Then… I guess this could be fun." She said, slowly smiling.

"Not could, will!" Ditto's big hand took her little one. "And we'll do it together, ok?"

Her smile grew. "Ok."

"You trust me?"

"I trust you."

"Good." He beamed and began pulling her along. "I know the perfect place to go first."

* * *

"And they just disappeared?"

"Right out my window."

Gwen raised an eyebrow. "And you didn't follow them, why?"

Ben rolled his eyes. "Because the were just gone. I looked everywhere and couldn't find a trace of them. That's why I called you."

"How'd they even get out of the ultimatrix in the first place?" Kevin asked, frowning.

Running a hand through his hair, he shrugged. "I don't know. The ultimatrix just started going crazy and then Ditto just popped up and began messing with it until Echo Echo came out."

"How helpful." Ben glared tiredly but said nothing.

Gwen looked over at the window curiously. "From what you've said, it doesn't seem like they were trying to hurt you."

"Sending me flying into a wall does hurt you know."

"Yes," She rolled her eyes. "But it seems like they only did that to stop you from going hero. Then they just left. Doesn't seem very vicious to me."

"I suppose." Ben said thoughtfully.

Kevin spoke up. "But they could just be planning an attack later. What if they're like Ghostfreak and are just good at hiding it? "

"He does have a point, for once." The brunette said with a smirk.

Flashing his fist at Ben, Kevin smirked. "I'll give you a point-"

"I don't think so."

Both boys gave the red head a curious look.

She sighed, brushing her hair back. "Just call it intuition. I just don't think they're out to take us down."

"That doesn't change that we still need to find them. I mean, who knows what they're going to do or who could get their hands on them."

Kevin spoke. "But how are we suppose to find them?" Gwen looked thoughtfully at the ultimatrix.

"I might be able to track them through it." She stated.

Ben glanced at it then back up. "That seems like our best bet."

Nearing her cousin, Gwen brought her hand over his wrist and both began to glow soft pink. Her eyes flashed pink before she shut them, concentrating. Images flashed through her mind.

Her eyes shot open.

"Well?" Kevin asked slowly.

"I know where they are." Unsaid words hung in the air.

Ben raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"Nothing. That's it." She replied, looking away.

"If you're sure."

"Come on, let's just go find them then." The ebony haired boy said as he made his way to the door.

Gwen shook her head. "No, let's get back home and rest, it's late."

"What?" Ben looked over at her confused. "We can't just let them run around out there!"

"They'll be fine." She insisted walking past him. "Just trust me. Besides we have school tomorrow it's already twelve. Did you forget that test, Ben?"

He flinched and looked away. "Noooo?"

"That's what I thought." She stated with a smirk. "We can go after them after school tomorrow. They won't start anything."

Give her a look, Kevin raised an eyebrow. "And you're sure of this, how?"

"Just trust me?" She asked looking between them. The two boys exchanged looks then slowly nodded.

"If you say so… But if anything goes wrong, it's on you're head!"

Laughing, she nodded. "Okay, I can deal with that."

* * *

"*This* is what you wanted to show me?"

"Oh come on!" Ditto laughed, rattling the swing. "This is what humans call a swing and it is fun! Like flying 'cept not!"

Giving him a look, Echo Echo stepped up to it. "So, how does it work?" She asked curiously.

He patted the small seat. "Sit, and I'll show you! It'll be load'sa fun!" With one last look, she did as he said, sitting on the swing and he walked behind her. "Ok, now hold on to the chains!"

"Ok…"

"And hold tight!"

"Got it."

"Anddddd, go!"

Echo Echo gasped as she was suddenly sent forward, the swing flying up. "Oh!" Her grip on the chain tightened as she went back. She then felt the other alien's hands on her back, sending her forward again as the chains rattled. "This is-!"

"Awesome? Cool? Funner then a barrel of monkeys?"

"Terrifying!" She gasped.

"Ok, not really the answer I was expecting."

"I want off!"

Quickly gripping the chains when she went back, Ditto stopped the set and looked at her. "What's wrong?"

She looked down, getting of the swing. "We don't have anything like this on my planet." She stated. "I'm not quite accustomed to going so high up. I'm embarrassed to say it was frightening."

Ditto made a small noise as he placed a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be scary."

"It's alright."

Looking back at the swing, he tugged on her gently. "Say, just give it one more try."

She looked over, questioning. "What? But-"

"You trust me, don't ya?"

Echo Echo paused, then nodded. "I do."

"Then just try again, for me? Pleaseeeee?"

"Okay, okay." She said with a small smile. She gave the swing a nervous glance before sitting back down. "Now?"

"Now close your eyes."

"Why?"

He poked her playfully. "It'll be fun. Come onnnn."

She laughed, doing as he said. "Ok?"

"And don't forget to hold on."

She felt his hands on her back again, gently pushing her forward. She could feel the air rush by then go back, and he would push again. Back and forth, back and forth. The wind whistled. She felt herself lighten strangely. But she could only concentrate on the warm hands on her back and the air on her face.

"Is this any better, Echo Echo?"

She took a moment to register his voice before answering. "Yes, it's so much better."

She heard him chuckle. "Then you gonna' open your eyes?"

"Open my eyes?" Echo Echo stiffened. "I guess I can…"

Slowly, she peeked on eye open. Then, the other.

She was soaring! The ground beneath her was moving swiftly back and forth. Smiling, she laughed. "It's not scary!" She declared gleefully.

Ditto grinned as he continued to push. "See? It's fun!"

"Like flying!" Echo Echo replied, remembering his words.

"You think you can fly on your own?"

The white alien glanced back, seeing her friend back away. "What?"

He grinned. "Swing your legs, it'll keep you going!"

"Okay…" She swung her short legs gently before picking up a slightly fast pace. The swing continued to go back and forth, giving her a delighted feeling. "I'm doing it!"

"Sure are!" He called back. There was a rustling of chains and before she knew it, Ditto was swinging with her. He gave her a large grin, which she returned.

Perhaps, Echo Echo wondered to herself, this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

* * *

Ben yawned and stretched as he walked slowly to his school. He hadn't got much a restful sleep, having been left to wonder what his two aliens were doing and why. There hadn't been any destruction or disasters over night and his parents weren't kidnapped. Everything seemed as it should be, so what could they have been up to all night?

A loud revving of an engine brought him out of his morning daze. Looking over, he saw Kevin pull up next to him with Gwen in the passenger seat.

"It's a bit of walk, don't you think?" Kevin called with a smirk.

Ben shrugged as he continued to walk with the car slowly rolling beside him. "I didn't get much sleep last night, with finishing my homework and studying and all that. I didn't trust myself to drive."

"Well, you want a ride?" Gwen asked as he yawned again.

"No, I'm good. I need to wake up and a car ride might just put me to sleep again."

Gwen rephrased herself. "We can grab a smoothie on the way."

-**2 smoothies late**r-

"Why did you guys wanna' give me ride so much?" Ben asked between his slurping.

Rolling his eyes, Kevin responded. "Ditto and Echo Echo made a bit of fun last night."

This caught the younger teens attention. "Huh?"

"Well," Gwen spoke up. "Last night there were a ton of sightings of the two at places like the park, some fast food joints, the arcade, the drive in movie theater, and apparently, they hit up a small ice cream parlor."

"They are quite the fiends." Kevin stated sarcastically, smirking.

Ben frowned. "So what do you suggest we do?"

"Nothing, yet." Gwen said with a sigh. "I've still got a small track on them though, and they've made some distance."

"Huh?"

"Well, they've gotten two towns over from what I can tell but they haven't made in jumps in distance since then."

"And why would they have gone there anyways?" Ben asked, once again slurping his smoothie.

Kevin shrugged. "What would two little aliens do if they had free reign?"

There was a small pause between the trio.

Ben scratched his head. "I dunno."

"Thank you man o' thousand words."

He glared at the driver. "Well what would *you* do?"

"I'd eat."

'Which they did, obviously."

Gwen tapped her chin in thought. "Well, let's look at what species they are. Ditto's a Splixton and Echo Echo is Sonorosian."

"Splixton's are known for being a very peaceful race." Kevin chimed in. "They're mostly made up of farmers and stuff like that. But I don't know much of Sonorosians though."

"Well, that's not gonna help us." Ben muttered.

Gwen sighed as Kevin pulled up to his school. "Then I guess our best choice is just to track them down after school."

"So long as they aren't, you know, captured or something." Kevin stated with a shrug, causing his girlfriend to elbow him roughly. "Ow! What was that for?"

She glared but Ben cut her off as he got out. "He's right though, Gwen. The longer they're out there, the more dangerous it become. If Aggregor finds them, who know what he may do to them." He glanced at the school then back to them. I'm gonna ditch after the test. Meet me out here at one."

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right place, Ditto?"

"As sure as Wildmutt is wild!"

Echo Echo gave him a look. He grinned wider. "You said you wanted to go to an Earth music festival and I heard those elder humans talking about it, and so here we are!"

She looked around at the empty field, save for the large stage sitting in the middle. "But there's nothing here."

"Yet!" Ditto corrected. "They said it would be later. So we just gotta' play the waiting game!"

Turning back to him, she frowned. "It's kinda open out here though. What if someone sees us?"

"Don't worry, Echo Echo!" He said, patting her shoulder. "We'll just do some sight seeing then come back here when it's time. Nothing can go wrong!" Ditto stated ecstatically, wrapping his arm around her. "And our first stop will be that carni-thing those humans were talk about as well!"

"Carnival?"

"Yeah, that!" His grin seemed contagious, as soon Echo Echo reflected his expression. "Come on!"

Laughing, the two took off, unaware of the figure that lurked close behind.

A smirk played on the figures lips as the two small aliens disappeared from sight.

"My, my, a little Sonorosian and Splixton? Not a plethora of energy, but most useful in it's own way. You might as well have hand delivered them, Tennyson."

* * *

**TBC**


	2. Dyed Crimson

_I would like to thank my so kind reviewer, brandirandom21, for her so kind review! 8) Reviews make the world go round and that's why I've been quick to get this chapter up!_

_Brandi: I don't know how or where I got the idea for this pairing, but I fell in love with it right away. XD It's my little guilty pleasure, I guess! But I really think this could make a really cute pairing and I know there are others who agree(DeviantArt has fan art of the two! Check 'em out!). So I'm out to spread the loveeee! ^^ And you find out who the villain is soon. ;)_

_After I finish this Three shot, I do plan to start a series of DittoxEchoEcho ficlets. Idea's are welcome. J_

_Anyhow, enjoy the fic! Read and Review, please!_

* * *

**To Be Free**

**Part 2: Dyed Crimson**

* * *

Ditto gave a loud whoop as he and Echo Echo ran through the carnival. So many colors and smells! Strings of colorful lights decorated stands and games. There was bright pink and blue cotton candy to their left, strange water gun games to their right. Children laughed while parents moaned, for every little game they passed. It was amazing! He couldn't even decide where to start! Pausing, the two aliens exchanged jubilant expressions.

"I don't even know where to start!" Ditto exclaimed giddily. "Look at all the rides! Wait, NO! Look at all the games! No, no! The RIDES! Aw heck, look at ALL of it!" The little back and white alien could barely stand in one place in all his excitement. "This is gonna be the best!"

Echo Echo laughed at his eccentric attitude, grabbing his arm to keep him from getting distracted and running off. "Calm down or you'll hurt yourself! We've got all day for this!"

Sticking out his tongue, Ditto began to drag her. "Yeah, but I'm ready to have fun now! What'a you think we should do first? We could get some bizarre and potentially artery clogging foods or we could go ride the Ziggler and go round and round and round and upside down or maybe the Wacky Mouse and go around those breakneck corners and maybe if we're lucky we could get on the CLAW!"

"Or you could breath! Breathing is fun!" She chimed back with laughter as her friend took a large and gulping breath.

"That too!"

Giggling, she continued. "The Wacky Mouse sounded like fun. Let's go do that!"

"Yes!" Ditto was practically carrying her by this point. "Wacky Mouse time!"

The two laughed as they ran up to the said ride and joined the small line, since most kids were still in school. Bouncing on his heels, Ditto watched the ride as it went up and down slopes, spun, and twisted at sharp corners. "Oh, this is gonna' be so wicked!" He stated gleefully.

Looking up, the smaller alien gulped as the ride took another sharp turn. When he spoke about it, it hadn't sounded so bad, but seeing it and how high it was had unnerved her. "It's really high." She remarked as he glanced at her. "Maybe rides aren't my thing."

Ditto pouted then took her hand, drawing her closer. They both looked up to the ride when the riders gave out shrill screams which caused Echo Echo to flinch. "Hey now, it'll be fun, don't you worry. It's not all that scary as it seems. And besides, we've faced worse!"

"*Ben's* faced worse." She corrected.

"And we're connected to him." He went on. "If he, we, can take on the universe and win, a little ride won't take us down." Grinning, he winked. "And if that doesn't make you feel any better, you've till got me! And when has your neighborhood Ditto ever let you down?"

"Do I have to answer that? I'd hate to make your ego get in bigger." She said with a small laugh. "I guess I can do this. I suppose."

"That'a girl! And look, it's even our turn now!"  
The two walked forward to the ride worker, who had been staring at the two for a while. His eyebrows were about to pop off his head if they went any higher. Noticing his expression, Ditto puffed his chest out.

"What? You never seen two extraterrestrial white and black beings with weird marks and funny voices before?" Echo Echo mentally face-palmed at her friend as he huffed.

The man gave him a even stranger look before scoffing and rolling his eyes. "Kids…" He muttered, then pointed to one of the carts that came rolling up. "Number ten, make sure to buckle and pull down the lever."

Quickly the two took their seats, doing as they were told. The ride took a clunky start and slowly inched it's way up the first hill. They exchanged a look once it reached the top. Gulping, Echo Echo took his hand, gripping it tightly. He grinned. At the tip, it stopped perching for a minute… then…

"Ahhhhhhhh!"

"Wahoooooooo!"

* * *

She was very grateful to be on the solid ground again. Very. Very. Greatful. Laying facedown on the grass, she sighed.

"It wasn't that bad!" Her friend stated.

"You're right." Echo Echo responded. "It was worse."

Ditto patted her back sympathetically. "Sorry. I guess you're not ready for the big guns yet." He said while helping her back to her feet. "You wanna grab some chow then?" From the look on the smaller aliens face, he knew it was no. "Ok then howwww aboutttt… Oh! I got it!" Once again, he grabbed her once more, dragging her back to the stands.

"What are you doing?"

He took her to a game stand, then turned and grinned. "I'mma gonna win you something! That should help you feel better!"

Flustered, Echo Echo blinked. "Huh?"

Repeating his comment, he pointed to the big stuffed animals and blow up guitars. "I'm gonna win you one of those! You watch! And it'll make you forget all about the ride!"

"How are you gonna do that? We don't have any money." She asked. "We snuck into the carnival as is."

Flashing a smile, he grabbed dirt from the ground. "Watch." With that, he quickly rubbed the dirt into his eyes causing them to redden and tear up. Echo Echo gaped in astonishment as he then rubbed a little dirt on himself. Finally, he slowly waddled over to stand sniffling pathetically. The girl took on glance at him and Echo Echo could practically *see* her crack.

"A-a-ah, I wa-was mugged." Ditto said in a weary and dejected voice. "Th-they took all my-my money. But I-I really wanna win my g-girlfriend something… " He bit his lip, rubbed his eyes, and made small squeaks. "Those meany bullies t-took all we had…"

If Echo Echo hadn't know better, she's sure her own heart would have ached for his sob story.

The girl made cooing sounds. "Oh you poor boy… Is that her?" She asked, pointing at her. The little alien was sure her face was crimson at this point.

'He did call me his girlfriend… That's what humans call their mates… right?'

"Uh huh." He replied with a sniffle. "This was s-supposed to be our night… I just w-wanna give her somethin' to remember… Please, p-please…"

"Oh, honey." The woman said, wiping her eyes. "Sure you can."

Ditto's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Golly, ma'am! You mean it?"

The blond smiled. "Of course! Here's three darts. Now, all you have to do is hit the balloons. The more you hit, the better you're prize." She looked over at Echo Echo then back to Ditto and winked. "And I'm sure you'll will your little sweetie something good. Just give it your best try!"

Grinning, Ditto took one dart and aimed, sticking his tongue out in concentration. With a swing, he threw the dart. His face quickly drooped.

"Ok, so this isn't as easy as it looks." He muttered to himself. Taking another one, he stared intently at the balloons before finally picking one and throwing.

Nothing.

"Ahg!" He dropped his head. So much for any good prize. Taking the last dart he rolled his eyes. What was the point? You couldn't get anything good one balloon! He turned to Echo Echo with a sigh, tossing the dart over his shoulder.

'Pop!'

He flew back around with wide eyes. "I got one?" A grin grew on his face. "I got one! I really did! Yeaaaahh!" He grabbed his friend's hand and pulled her over. "What'a I get? What'a I win?"

With a laugh the woman pointed to a small section of toys. "Well, you only hit one, which usually means you get the dinosaur eraser," Ditto's face fell. "But I can tell you really put yourself in it, so you can choose from the three-balloon section. You want the stuffed dog, the squeaky hammer, or the jumping frog?"

Ditto turned expectantly to Echo Echo. "What do you?"

"Me?" She blinked, taken back by the attention. She look over at the smiling then woman then at the toys. "I-I like frog."

"The frog it is then." The woman replied, grabbing a frog and handing it to her. "Now, you two have a good day! And stay out of danger, sweeties!"

"We will!" Ditto called out as he grabbed Echo Echo and took her off. "Thank you, ma'am!"

"No problem! And I love the costumes! So cute!"

The two exchanged grins, pausing around some small food stands. "

"You like it?" He asked happily.

She nodded. "I do. It hops!" To show her point, she twisted the knob on it then sat it down. The little green toy whirred and hopped multiple times while she giggled. Ditto just rolled his eye's.

"Girls! So easily impressed." He stated with a chuckle.

Echo Echo was about respond when a voice cut her off.

"Dude! What the hell's up with those weirdo costumes?"

"Ahaha, yeah man! Aliens? Really? Couldn't come up with anything better?"

The two aliens turned to the voices. Two rather sketchy looking guys watched them with smirks, before the shorter, stubbier one walked over and began inspecting them. He kept snigger at the two.

"These things look so fake!" He claimed and began poking Echo Echo. "What's it made of? Spandex? Heh!"

"Ow! Please, ow, stop! That hurts!" She said swatting at his hands.

Ditto stepped forward and grabbed his hands. "Hey, buddy! She said stop!"

The stubby fellow yanked his hand back with a bemused smirk. "She?" He laughed. "Mark, it's a girl! Can you believe that?"

Echo Echo gave a indignant glare while Ditto growled. "You two punks better just leave us alone." He stated, waving a finger at them.

"Oh no!" Mark clasped his fake in fake fear. "I am just trembling in my boots. You see? Terrified, I tell you! Jeez," He laughed, joining his buddy. "Kids these days. You don't scare us kid, sorry. Least of all while wearing that thing." With that, the guy grabbed Ditto and shook him. "How'd you get this thing on, anyhow? Hidden zipper?"

"Hey!" Ditto grabbed his arm and pulled. "You put me down or else!"

"Give it up, little guy." The chubby one said with a sneer. "You got nothing against us." The two laughed as Ditto was shaken harder.

"You let go!" Echo Echo claimed as she grabbed his arm. She glared up at him. "You don't wanna mess with us, Earthlings."

This caused both the men to crack up even harder. Mark playfully elbowed his friend. "You hear that, 'Earthling'? We better be careful!" With a loud laugh, he chucked Ditto off to the side and grabbed her instead. "What are you gonna do about it, kiddo? Kick us? Bite? Scream? Go on! Amaze us!"

"You might not want that, numbskull." Ditto said as he stood up, glaring. "You better just put her down and move on."

"And just why would we do that?" Mark asked.

"Because," Echo Echo chimed. "I might do this." With that, she took a deep breath.

The guys began laughing. "She's gonna wail! She's gonna-"

_'SCREEEEEEEEEECH!'_

The two males went flying back, yelling back in agony as they hit the food stands. Blood dribbled from their ears and the two slowly struggled to their feet. People began yelling and running over before the chunky male pushed up and pointed directly at the two aliens.

"Monsters!" He screamed out, slurring. "They tried to kill us! Monster! Kill them!"

Screams erupted.

* * *

Ben knew something was wrong when he was called out in the middle of his test. Once his two friends saw him coming, Kevin began honking for him to hurry. Gwen jumped out and he jumped in, and the elder male wasted no time in hitting the gas once she climbed back in, sending Ben flopping around in the back as he tried to seat himself.

"Do you not know the meaning of traffic laws? Because I'm sure you're breaking at least twenty-three of them!" He cried out after slamming his head into the back of Gwen's seat.

"No time!" He replied. "A few minutes ago a special report came on about an alien attack two cities down. In the same place as Ditto and Echo Echo."

This claimed the brunette's attention. "What?"

"Apparently, two guys at a carnival were attacked by two small aliens and when the crowd went in to retaliate, they attacked, nearly destroying everything." Gwen responded sourly. "Police are on their tails right now and I don't want to think about what might happen if they confront Ditto and Echo Echo."

"We also got a message from a plumber stationed there that if we don't get our 'sorry butts' down there, if the police don't take them out, *they* will."

"I'd like to see them try." Ben muttered darkly.

"This is serious, Ben!"

"I know!" He shot back, then glared. "You said everything would be all right!" Ben barked out angrily. "People could be hurt because of this, Gwen!"

Kevin scoffed. "They already have."

"I know what I said!" She snapped, sending both of them dirty looks. "But I don't think they're really rouge! This has to be a misunderstanding."

Ben frowned, pulling closer to his cousin. "Why do you keep sticking up for them?"

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, then out the window. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do to. This whole time you've been way too lax about all this and you put off going after them. Now you're sticking up for them even though everything points to them being rouge." He claimed, watching her intently. "What do you know that we don't?"

"Nothing!" She replied. "How would I know anything else? I haven't even met them."

"I don't know! What about when you scanned the ultimatrix or whatever? You've been acting strange ever since then." He exclaimed in aggravation. "What do you know?"

Gwen fell silent, unable to meet his gaze. "Because, when I scanned the ultimatrix, I not only figured out where they were but I also felt what they felt and learned what they knew."

Arching his eyebrows, Ben made a questioning noise. "I didn't know you could do that."

"Neither did I."

"Then…?"

"I guess since the ultimatrix is so closely connected to them, that when I read into it, it was like reading into *them*. I could even feel the other aliens."

"Get to the point, Gwen." Kevin growled as he twisted the wheel, turning the car sharply. . "Because either they're rogue and they're going down, or they're not and we might be able to help them. *Might*."

Gwen rolled her eyes and glanced back at Ben. "Ben, you that warm feeling you get whenever Julie's around?"

"What? Gwen what the heck does that have to do with-"

Gwen met his eyes. He blinked and slowly his eyebrows began to go up.

"Oh…Oh. Ohhhhh!" He sat back, dumbfounded. "You mean they-?" She nodded, causing him to hum. "That is so *weird*."

Kevin gave a look to the two of them. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about but I really couldn't care less. But I do know that if we don't hurry, then things are gonna get bad." He grinned. "So hold on, ladies, we're about to experience some turbulence." He hastily hit a few button, causing the engine to roar loudly and pushing the two cousins in their seats.

"Careful!" Gwen groaned as he dodged around other cars.

"Careful won't get us there in time to help." Her replied. "And we've still got ways to go."

Ben begin shuffling in the back at these words. "You're right. I need to go ahead." He said as he unbuckled. "Gwen, open the window, I'm going hero!"

* * *

The sirens boomed loudly behind the two as they dodged people, desperate to gain distance away from them. People would scream in terror as they passed, claiming things like 'It's the aliens!', 'Get them!', and 'Don't hurt me!' Others would throw stuff at them or try to make a grab at them. More then once, force had been used to separate from them. However, in hindsight, that wasn't their best idea.

"What are we going to?" Echo Echo gasped out as they ran. "We can't keep this up!"

Yanking her into a small ally, Ditto gasped to catch his breath. "We just gotta' out smart them!"

"But people everywhere are trying to get us! And the human forces aren't far behind!" She gripped her head. "I can't believe I was so stupid! Attacking a human! I should of known better! This is all my fault!"

"You were just protecting yourself!" He said, grabbing her hand. "Those scum did this! They made it sound like we were trying to kill them! Don't blame yourself! You haven't anything wrong!"

She bit her lip, gripping his hand tighter. "I shouldn't have-"

"Echo Echo, if anyone's screwed up, it was me." Ditto said darkly. "I should have let the two water sacks get so far. But right now is not the time to think about this, we have to get moving again!"

"Where?" Echo Echo asked, glancing out of the ally. "They're getting closer and people keep recognizing us."

Looking around wildly, Dittto grabbed her and yanked her in another direction. "The music festival! We can lose them there! That place should be packed by now, human's love being early! The cops won't be able to follow us be car anymore!"

"But the people-"

"They won't have a clue! Come on!" He yelled as they took off towards the field. Once again, people yelled and the cops grew ever closer. They soon began to near the field. As Ditto had predicated, the place was indeed packed, people of all sorts crowded together. Certainly the police would be able to follow or find them in that crowd! As the two squeezed into the crowd, the roar of the people began to drown out the sirens(or perhaps they had stopped?) and they felt a weight lift from their shoulders.

Pushing through, Echo Echo spotted a shadowed section, covered by canopy. "There!" She called, gripping Ditto. "Maybe we can hide there!"

"Yeah, let's go!" He agreed and they swiftly took for it, hiding.

Gasping for air, they exchanged looks. They grasped each other into tight hugs with pure exhaustion written all over their faces.

"That was close." She wheezed. "My legs feel like rubber. And I'm made of silicone!"

Ditto grinned at her small joke. "Yeah, I know what you mean." He said as they pulled apart. "I thought we were real goners."

The two aliens chuckled tiredly when a click and a small buzz sounded.

"I have found the two aliens. I am apprehending them now."

Slowly, they looked over. A burly cop had a handheld radio in one hand and a raised gun in the other. He glared at the two.

"Put your hands up, you are under arrest." He stated gruffly. When neither moved, he clicked his gun. "I said put your hands up. If you refuse to cooperate, I can and will shoot. Now!"

Shakily, Echo Echo raised her hands, looking sadly at the cop. She glanced at Ditto. His arms were still at his side and he sighed. He raised them, head drooping.

"I'm sorry, Echo Echo."

"It's alright… At least we're together."

A deep, rumbling chuckle broke out behind them.

"For now."

The cop dropped his radio, in what seemed like fear. His hands began to shake. "You!"

"I think I'll take it from here, Earthling-"

"No, y-you put you're hands up! I-I'm not afraid to sh-"

The being stepped forward. "You don't want to do that. Certainly, you like living."

Three things happened at once, in just the blink of an eye.

The canopy flew up as a red creature flew in.

The officer felling, shooting.

And blood dyed the ground crimson.

**"AGGREGOR!"**

* * *

**TBC**


End file.
